Publication

STATE FICTION. The Gaze of the Swiss Neutral Mission in the Korean Demilitarized Zone

Denise Bertschi
2021
Books

Abstract

In her book "State Fiction" Denise Bertschi looks at how Switzerland's neutral mission in the Korean demilitarized zone contributed to the construction of the Swiss “neutral” national identity. Offering new perspectives in terms of geopolitical, military, and sociological histories of the twentieth century, Denise Bertschi takes her readers through elements of archival photographic and cinematographic artefacts left behind by the Swiss military men. Indeed, Denise Bertschi’s meticulous discussions of the archival material reveal how the Swiss soldiers and senior officers stationed in Korea on a "neutral" mission, which began in 1953 and is still going on today, contributed extensively to the very construction of representations of Swiss “neutrality”, unveiling the mechanisms behind this particular STATE FICTION.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/1d792301-d6b2-418a-9dd3-64695190682f

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Denise Bertschi
2021
Books

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/1d792301-d6b2-418a-9dd3-64695190682f

About this result

Related concepts (21)

Swiss Armed Forces

The Swiss Armed Forces (Schweizer Armee, Armée suisse, Esercito svizzero, Armada svizra; Swiss Army) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are conscripts or volunteers aged 19 to 34 (in some cases up to 50). Because of Switzerland's long history of neutrality, the Swiss Armed Forces do not take part in conflicts in other countries, but do participate in international peacekeeping missions.

Neutral country

A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of non-combatant status, nationals of neutral countries enjoy protection under the law of war from belligerent actions to a greater extent than other non-combatants such as enemy civilians and prisoners of war.

Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Korean Demilitarized Zone () is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It was established to serve as a buffer zone between the countries of North Korea and South Korea under the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, an agreement between North Korea, China, and the United Nations Command. The DMZ is long and about wide.